


make your circles out of salt

by sugarlessgum



Category: Yu-Gi-Oh! Duel Monsters (Anime & Manga)
Genre: Alternate Universe - Buzzfeed Unsolved Fusion, M/M, Paranormal Investigators, Roommates, Trans Yugi, i just want y’all to be aware, it doesn’t really come up in the story
Language: English
Status: In-Progress
Published: 2020-12-10
Updated: 2020-12-10
Packaged: 2021-03-10 01:07:50
Rating: Teen And Up Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 1
Words: 2,007
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/27695333
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/sugarlessgum/pseuds/sugarlessgum
Summary: The basement was a nightmare in person. The temperature dropped severely at the bottom of the staircase and there was a foul, moldy odor coming from somewhere in the room. Once his eyes adjusted to the dark,  he could make out the smudged remains of a pentagram on the concrete floor.They were barely downstairs for two minutes before Kaiba turned to the camera and said, “I’m gonna go lie on the pentagram.”Buzzfeed Unsolved AU where Yugi is a believer, Kaiba is a skeptic, and Joey is just along for the ride
Relationships: Jounouchi Katsuya | Joey Wheeler & Kaiba Seto & Mutou Yuugi, Jounouchi Katsuya | Joey Wheeler/Mutou Yuugi, Marik Ishtar/Kaiba Seto
Comments: 2
Kudos: 10





	make your circles out of salt

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Is there a demon lurking in the small town of Gouland?

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Inspired by [this episode](https://youtu.be/Mx8JkGHaGUI) of Buzzfeed Unsolved
> 
> [playlist](https://open.spotify.com/playlist/79crFl5K8HpY1jIktf1e1e?si=cPsRUkNzTJWcQo7CtOyxow)
> 
> [tumblr](https://kuribohwithchain.tumblr.com)

There was nothing particularly sinister about the house. It was your average suburban stock photo, right down to the picket fence. If they had driven past it during the day, Joey wouldn’t have looked twice at it. But pulling into the driveway now, under the cover of darkness, he could feel his stomach tying itself into knots.

Joey used the light coming from the front porch to navigate as he unloaded equipment from the car. They had all agreed they would only need one cameraman for tonight. Which meant Tristan got to stay home, cozy and safe, while Joey walked headfirst into a demon’s lair. Allegedly.

Kaiba got out of his car and stretched out his freakishly long limbs. “All right. Let’s get this circus over with.”

“You could at least try to be respectful,” Yugi said, more out of habit than anything. He’d given up trying to convince Kaiba to treat this seriously months ago.

He was staring up at the house, toying with the pendant he always wore. An upside-down pyramid with a stylized eye on the front. Yugi’s grandpa had given it to him shortly after they started the show. It supposedly had some sort of protective qualities attached to it. Joey could only hope that protection extended to everyone in the group.

He pulled the chest camera harnesses out of the trunk and turned to face Yugi. “All right, bud. Time to get strapped in.” His voice was steady but he couldn’t keep his hands from shaking as he helped adjust the straps. Yugi glanced over his shoulder to study Joey’s face.

“Nervous?”

It would be pointless to lie. Yugi could always see right through him. “This ain’t exactly your run-of-the-mill haunted house, Yug.”

“It’s not exactly our first demon, either. We made it out last time all in one piece.”

“You mean when Kaiba brought out his Duel Monsters deck and challenged a demon for ownership of its bridge?”

“Yeah, and nothing happened,” Kaiba said as he clipped on his own harness. “So either demons don’t exist, or they’re all cowards. You have nothing to worry about.”

Joey ground his teeth but didn’t bother arguing. They had gone to see a spiritual expert called Shadi before filming at the bridge. The first warning he had given them was not to invite demonic entities into any sort of conversation. Kaiba had taken that as a challenge. At this point, telling him all the reasons not to do it would just remind him of all the reasons he wanted to.

Once everyone had their microphones hooked up and their equipment ready, Yugi fished the spare key out of the mailbox. He and Kaiba charged right in. They didn’t bother turning on any lights yet, just scanning the place with their flashlights as they made their way into the house. Joey hesitated on the doorstep. He should probably be used to wandering through haunted locations, they’ve been doing this for almost two years. Somehow it never got easier.

Yugi poked his head back into the front hall. “You coming?”

Joey shook himself out of his daze. “Yeah. Yeah, I’m coming.”

After a quick sweep of the house, they set up their recording equipment in the living room so Yugi could go over the history of activity. Everything from residents waking up with scratches to a series of spontaneous fires to the spirit of a little girl who called herself Adena. A spirit that might actually be a demon, if stories were to be believed.

They started their investigation in the nursery, where a former homeowner had found their child’s toys arranged in a strange, cult-like circle on the floor. They arranged stuffed animals in their own imitation of the scene.

Yugi tried reaching out to the spirit, using the flashlight method that’s become a staple of their show. They waited for nearly twenty minutes for any sort of sign or response. Joey let out a sigh of relief when nothing happened.

They didn’t bother with the same theatrics in the kitchen. Yugi just set one of the flashlights on the counter and greeted the spirits. After a few questions, it looked like they weren’t gonna get anything from this room either.

Joey could hear Kaiba drumming his fingers impatiently. That was all the warning they got before he crossed the room and crouched next to the counter.

“Kaiba, don’t–” Yugi started.

“It’s fine, I just wanna talk to the demon.”

Yugi sighed but went on with his questions. “Spirit, could you give us a sign? Turn on the flashlight if you’re okay with us staying here tonight.”

It would be fine. Nothing happened at the bridge, and nothing would happen here either. Kaiba may even be right, this was probably all bullshit anyways. There was no reason to get so worked up over it.

The flashlight stayed dark. Kaiba leaned in closer, a wicked look in his eye. “Turn it on if you _don’t_ want us here.”

Like magic, the flashlight turned on. Joey didn’t even realize he was screaming until Yugi grabbed both his shoulders and tried to shake him out of it.

“Joey. _Joey._ ”

Apparently he had crouched behind the kitchen table at some point, the camera forgotten on the floor next to him. Kaiba was still laughing like a maniac on the other side of the kitchen.

“Hey,” Yugi said. “Are you okay?”

Joey took a deep, shaky breath. “Yeah. Yeah, I’m great. Just give me a second.”

Yugi squeezed his shoulders briefly and picked the camera up from the floor. “Why don’t you take a breather. I can finish recording this bit.”

Joey didn’t even try to argue. He just sat down in one of the kitchen chairs and watched as Yugi asked the spirits to turn the flashlight back off. Right on cue, the light flickered out into nothing.

“Okay. We’re about to move on from this room. Could you give us one more sign before we go?”

Kaiba, looking more gleeful than Joey had ever seen him, said, “I don’t think they will. I don’t think they have the power to do it a second time.”

Again, the flashlight blinked on and again, Joey screamed.

“Okay,” Yugi said. “I think it’s time for a break.”

Joey spread out on one of the living room couches, a water bottle clutched between both hands. Yugi sat on the floor beside him. He had a hand on Joey’s arm, running his thumb back and forth in an effort to soothe him. Once his breathing had returned to normal, Joey glared at Kaiba from across the room.

“You shouldn’t have talked to it, man.”

Kaiba was lounging in an armchair, one long leg crossed over the other, completely unbothered. “Nothing was happening. At least I got results.”

“You made it angry, is what you did. You challenged it!”

“Well, luckily _it_ doesn’t exist.”

“Joey’s right,” Yugi said. “We should be more responsible.”

Kaiba waved him off. “It’s not my fault he’s scared of flashlights. Perhaps he should consider a change in careers.”

Joey ignored him. He closed his eyes and let the weight of Yugi’s hand on his arm keep him grounded. After a few minutes of quiet bickering, they started getting ready for the next stop on their investigation.

“Do you need to sit this one out?” Yugi asked.

“No, no, I’m good.” Joey sat up and chugged the rest of his water. “Okay. Let’s do this.”

The last room of the night was, without contest, the worst. He’d been dreading it all night. But now he was ready to rip off the bandaid so he could go home and forget about this house entirely.

The basement was said to be used for cult rituals and was most likely the source of the demonic infestation. Joey could understand where the rumors were coming from. It was a nightmare in person. The temperature dropped severely at the bottom of the staircase and there was a foul, moldy odor coming from somewhere in the room. Once his eyes adjusted to the dark, he could make out the smudged remains of a pentagram on the concrete floor.

They were barely downstairs for two minutes before Kaiba turned to the camera and said, “I’m gonna go lie on the pentagram.”

Neither of them tried to stop him. He lay down on the dirty floor, inviting the spirits to tear the heart out of his chest or follow them home to Domino City. Joey turned to Yugi, who looked like he was about to be sick.

“We’re gonna die tonight,” Joey said. “He’s gonna get us killed.”

Yugi didn’t say anything. He only watched as Kaiba cheered, his taunts apparently getting another flashlight response from whatever was in this house.

“Are you sure about this?” Joey asked. He was loading the equipment back into his car. They’d left a single night vision camera in the house, pointed at a pair of sleeping bags.

“It’ll be fine,” Yugi said, stuffing a bag into the backseat. “I’ve slept in plenty of haunted buildings. At least this one isn’t condemned. And Kaiba will probably be sleeping, so he won’t be causing any trouble.”

Joey shut the car door and stared back at the house. “Do you think you’ll be able to get any sleep in this place?”

“Probably not. I’m gonna try to stay up until three, anyway. There’s been a lot of activity reported around that hour.”

Joey hummed but didn’t answer. Yugi sounded calm, but he had a habit of putting on a brave face and not reaching out when he needed help. Joey knew he wasn’t happy about spending the night with a bunch of ghosts. He never was. And Kaiba didn’t have the emotional capacity to provide any moral support.

But Joey also knew firsthand that Yugi was a lot stronger than people gave him credit for. So if he said he could handle it, Joey believed him. It wouldn’t stop him from worrying about whatever spirits were lurking in the house, though.

“Promise that you’ll call if you need me. For anything. Even if it’s just to knock Kaiba out before he argues with any more demons.”

Yugi smiled up at him. “I promise. Try not to worry too much about it. You know these sleepovers are usually pretty boring. I’ll see you in the morning.”

Joey waited until Yugi was back inside the house before he drove off.

Gouland was a forty-minute drive from Domino City. It was almost one in the morning by the time Joey got back to the apartment he and Yugi shared. He didn’t even bother trying to sleep. He just changed into some pajamas and decided to log a few hours into Breath of the Wild. If Yugi was staying up until three, then so would he. Just in case.

Apparently his distraction worked too well. One moment he was paragliding through Shae Loya shrine, and the next he was waking up to the sound of his front door opening.

Yugi slumped into the apartment, kicking off his boots at the door. Joey could see the dark circles already forming under his eyes.

“Sorry,” he said around a yawn. “Did I wake you?”

“No, no. I was just about to head to bed.” His game was, unsurprisingly, stalled on the game over screen. The clock under the TV told him it was just after four. “You’re home early.”

Yugi curled up on the couch next to Joey, leaning into his shoulder. “Yeah. Nothing happened at three, so we decided to call it a night.”

“We should go over the footage tomorrow. Who knows what the cameras might have picked up.”

Yugi hummed in agreement and settled more heavily into Joey’s side. When Joey looked down, he was already fast asleep. Joey should probably wake him up so they could shuffle off to their bedrooms.

Instead, he pulled a blanket off the back of the couch and draped it over them both. One night on the couch wouldn’t kill them.


End file.
